When I was fourteen, I attended a cast party after a high school theater production. When I walked into the house in my white Keds (with friendship pins) and my jeans rolled just so, the parents of the hostess directed me to the back patio where the party was being held under the starry spring […]
Your First Child Can Make You Feel Like You Are Screwing It All Up
When the nurse handed me my son after delivery, I panicked. I felt my heart start to race, my hands started to shake and I could feel sweat forming on my forehead. “Am I holding him the right way? What if I don’t know what he needs? What if I screw him up?” I looked […]
Advanced Placement Classes Are Hell And It’s Okay If Your Kid Says NOPE.
When our kids were small, we moved to a new school district in time for my son to start kindergarten. As I was filling out his new student paperwork, I realized, unexpectedly, that our new district had a different age cut off than our previous district. This meant that my daughter, already enrolled in preschool, […]
I’m Trying Not To Push My Teens Into The Activities I Loved in High School
When I dropped my daughter off at cross-country practice, I paused to watch the high school marching band rehearse. As I watched the kids play their instruments and the color guard practice their routines, I was instantly transported to a time when I, too, twirled a flag in front of a frenzied Friday night crowd. […]
Here’s How To Send Your Son To A High School Dance In 50 Easy Steps
Now that your kid is in high school, I hate to break it to you: gone are the simple days when you drop your child off at an elementary event run by friends of yours on the PTA. Back then, you told your kid to grab his shoes and $2 and dropped him off at […]
I Parent My Teens Through The Lens of Grieving. And It Sucks.
My teenaged son walked in the door from school and I caught a glimpse of my father. It was fleeting, lasting only milliseconds, but for a tiny moment in time, I could see the way my father’s features had melded with my son’s. And, as it happens during those moments, my heart broke a little […]
My Teen Daughter Has Found Her Passion And It Takes My Breath Away
I came to the sport of running late in life. Though I ran on my high school track team, I hung my running shoes up for many years until the strain of sleepless nights and baby weight became too much for me. In my early thirties, I dusted off on my running shoes and I […]
Sending a Kid to High School Is Harder Than The First Day of Preschool
When the nurse handed my son to me, I expected to feel an instantaneous bond. As I peeled back his blanket and took in his old man scowl, though, I surprised myself as the words, “I’m not qualified to raise a human” came to mind. And I promptly looked around for a grown up because […]
Social Media Has Brought Me Closer To My Teens And I’m Not Sorry
As any parent of teens will tell you, social media and technology are a part of a teen’s everyday life. From texting to snapping, teens are wholly immersed in a media world that still feels foreign to parents of our generation. And, if you are like me, it can often feel like you are struggling […]
I Am The Mom With The Big Mouth So You Don’t Have To Be.
Recently, I dropped my 15-year-old son off for a weekend away with friends. They were going canoeing and he was excited to spend 48 hours knee deep in water and sleeping on a hammock with his buddies. As I stood with him, waiting for them to pack up their gear, I assessed the group, particularly […]
Parents, We Need To Talk About The Word “Commitment”
Parents, we need to have a chat. *pauses to allow parents to grab coffee and gather ’round* Can we please talk about the word, “commitment”? Or, shall I say, the overuse of the word “commitment” when we are talking to our teens about their extracurricular activities? (My apologies to the parents who thought I was […]
Listen Up, Parents: Success Looks Different On Every Kid, Okay?
As I sipped hot coffee in a café, I listened to my friend detail the latest in her son’s journey towards college admission. Because her son is interested in attending the same university my son wants to attend in a few years, I was curious to learn the ins and outs of the application process. […]